sexta-feira, 31 de janeiro de 2014

I confess, I am in a different country and 90% of the population here doesn't even know what Super Bowl is, we just enjoy soccer a lot more so the recipes (yes TWO RECIPES TODAY!) I will post here today were made for a huge soccer even we had here a few months ago.

Today I bring you: oven roasted barbecue chicken drumsticks & skinny-fast plain crepes you can top with anything you like!

Both recipes are fairly easy to produce and only the drumsticks need a little more time because they need to marinate (preferably overnight but morning till evening is fine too.)

Recipe for the drumsticks makes 8 and for the crepes makes 11 but both are very easy to double ad accommodate all your friends and family wanting to crowd up in your house for Super Bowl :-)

Let's start with the crepes!

Ingredients:

- 80g all purpose flour;

- 1 whole egg + 60ml egg whites;

- 1 tbsp vanilla extract;

- 2 tbsp Stevia Sweetener;

How to:

- Mix all ingredients in a bowl, spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray and pour batter into it until it forms a sweet thin layer;

- Wait until it's cooked (you can see it is because it starts cooking on the upper side too) and flip it;

- Repeat until you are out of the batter, top with goodies and enjoy!

And now moving on to what really matter... Barbecued chicken!

Ingredients:

- 8 chicken drumsticks;

- 150g tomato sauce;

- 150g bottled barbecue marinade;

- 3 tbsps mustard;

- 1 tbsp salt & 1 tbsp black pepper;

- 2 tbsp garlic powder;

How to:

- In a bowl mix all ingredients (except drumsticks, obviously);

- Place drumsticks in a ziplock bag and pour in the sauce, close the bag, shake veeery well and rub until drumsticks are fully covered and place in the fridge overnight;

- When it comes time to cook before the game turn on the oven to 400ºF, place drumsticks on a baking tray and pour the rest of the liquid marinade on top and place in the oven for about 30/40 minutes giving them a shake every now and then;

- When ready place in serving platter and use a bowl to place the remaining sauce, we can't let all that goodness go to waste!

quinta-feira, 30 de janeiro de 2014

My boyfriend LOVES chocolate mousse. He really does, it's his nr. 1 favorite dessert of all time, so I thought I'd come up with a recipe he can eat all he wants of and won't get obese afterwards... And this was the result.

This consists of only 2 main ingredients and takes just about 15 minutes to prepare (+ at least 2 hours to refrigerate) and is definitely chocolaty and delicious and the texture is amazing!

All you need are eggs & cocoa powder, period. Then there's water and sweetener too but the main thing here are just eggs (1 yolk & 4 whites) and cocoa powder (I use dark because I like it better but you can use one to your liking, or even chocolate chips!).

You won't be missing out on all the butter or heavy whipped cream chocolate mousse usually consists of because this is equally as chocolaty and the whipped egg whites give it that smooth but bubbly texture you are looking for in a mouse, and it's so simple!

- 50g (1/4 cup) sweetener OR for a less skinny version 100g (1/2 cup) confectioner's sugar;

- 65ml (1/4 cup) room temperatura water;

- 1 bowl of ice cubes;

How to make it happen:

- In a medium saucepan combine cocoa powder or chips, water, sweetener or sugar and the egg yolk, whisk until combined and leave on low heat to simmer for about 10 minutes (do not let it boil) whisking every now and then;

- In a large bowl whip your egg whites until hard peaks form (do NOT over mix or your mousse will turn out runny);

- Inside the bowl of ice cubes place a clean bowl and pour into it the chocolate mixture after it's heated and let sit until it's cool;

- Pour egg whites into chocolate mixture and fold in with a spatula (do not use a mixer and do not mix to energetically or the air in your whites will be lost!);

- Pour into 6 separate little bowls or into 1 big one and chill for at least 2 hours.

domingo, 26 de janeiro de 2014

So i was just browsing around food blogs (all I do actually, I love looking at food) and I came across a XXL cookie on Sally's blog and decided I just had to try it and tweak it and boy did I ever... I have been making one a day every day since I first made it to test it... In fact, I am having one right now!

(Yes, hardcore Zelda fan here!)

They take about 3 minutes to prepare and 10 or 15 to bake and are just YUMMY.

You can make one super large one or divide the dough into 4 smaller ones and enjoy them throughout the day instead of all at once (I am more of an all-at-once kind of person).

These are not particularly low in calories but hey, they're a dessert, they are awesome and one's gotta live every now and then, right?

I have been trying lots of different variations and will be posting them but for now I'll stick to the basic chocolate chip version :)

- Place all ingredients except a portion of the toppings (for example if using 2 tbsp chocolate chips only add 1 tbsp into the dough and save the rest to top it) in a bowl and mix very very well, it should form a very thick dough;

- Place dough into tray or mat and top with remaining toppings as you wish;

sábado, 25 de janeiro de 2014

I am back and today I bring you a main course recipe that's just A-MAZING.

It's a small serving (serves 2) but can easily be doubled or tripled!

This healthy & low calorie shepherd's pie tastes amazing as well as is very filling and has only 4 ingredients: 1 large sweet potato, 300g shredded chicken, 50g cheese & 100ml skim milk (or any milk of choice).

It is also very very fast and easy to make to yourself & a loved one or a dinner with friends!

Here's the recipe, happy weekend!

Ingredients:

- 1 large sweet potato (±400g);

- 300g shredded chicken;

- 100ml skim milk;

- 50g light cheese;

How to:

1 - Boil the sweet potato until soft (test with a fork) and then (when cool enough to handle) remove the skin;

2 - Put in food processor along with 100ml of skim milk & some (about 1 tsp) garlic powder and salt and process all until smooth;

3 - Make a layer on the bottom of the tray with the mash, add all shredded cooked chicken on top of that, top with the rest of the mash & some low fat cheese and put in the oven pre-heated at 350F for just 5 minutes or until the cheese is melting/brownish & EAT!

terça-feira, 21 de janeiro de 2014

Lately I haven't had enough time to cook, final week of final exams is ending... And I am SO relieved!

Today I woke up craving something lemony so I spent the entire morning thinking what should I whip up to post for you guys... Then when I was I the gym it came to me: skinny brownies! But I knew I had to include chocolate somehow (we all know I am a HUGE chocoholic)...

And also, today I am celebrating my first blog partnership! A local traditional items shop decided to support me and my blog by supplying the porcelain dishes, trays, and all things kitchen for me to make beautiful pictures, made me so excited to see my blog / page(s) growing :D

Anyway, about the brownies!

I was thinking about making them tall and fluffy and filling them with the strawberry-chocolate sauce but then I thought otherwise and decided to make them kind of like a sheet cake and instead top them with the sauce and YUM, best idea ever!!

The texture is amazing and that lemon flavor... Delicious! I love the chocolate-lemon combination and the strawberries in the sauce give it just a little bit of texture that's just marvelous.

If you make them "sheet" like the recipe is good for about 20 of them, but if you want them taller just use a smaller taller baking tray and it'll probably make 12 or 16 :-)

My math was done for 20 sheet-like brownies and the 55 calories are INCLUDING the sauce!!

Here goes the recipe, enjoy!

Little 55kcal lemon sheet brownies with strawberry & chocolate sauce:

Ingredients:

- 180g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour;

- 20g (1 tbsp) baking powder;

- 10g (2 tsp) cornstarch;

- Itty bitty pinch of salt (like 1/2 tsp);

- 1 egg;

- 100g (3/4 cup) egg whites (or another whole egg);

- 1 tsp vanilla essence;

- 1 fat free sugar free yogurt (125g = 1 cup);

- Zest of a lemon;

- Rind of half a lemon;

- 50ml (3tbsp water - room temperature);

- 100g (3/4 of a cup) sweetener (or 200g (1 1/2 cups) confectioner's sugar) : Taste it before it goes in the oven because your lemons may be too sour compared to mine and the mix will be acid so you can add some more sweetener/sugar to taste!

For the strawberry filling:

- 250g (2 cups) fresh strawberries;

- 50g (1/2 cup) sweetener (or 100g (1 cup) sugar - may differ, depends on the cocoa you are using: add a little bit and then go by taste);

How to:- In a food processor place chicken breasts and all the seasonings and blend until it has become a big ball of protein goodness;- Grab a little chicken (I’d say about 1 ice cream scoop) and with your hand form a little ball and flatten it. Then place one of the cheese slices and then grab another measure of chicken and shape the burger until the cheese is covered thoroughly (TIP: flat burgers cook faster and better);- Repeat until you are out of chicken & cheese;- Heat pan at medium heat with non-stick cooking spray and place burgers, letting them cook very well before removing (I’d say at least 10 minutes each side).

terça-feira, 14 de janeiro de 2014

But I changed my mind and today I want to share something else with you. This:

Flourless chocolate peanut butter chips cookies

Yes you read right, flourless.

As in, with no flour or substitutes of any kind.

I personally am a big big fan of cookies and chocolate chip and chocolate chunk and everything cookies but I just get annoyed that they have such high caloric density that I can only eat one and not 22 like I want to.

These are not your typical cookies but are just as chocolaty, tasty, deep and amazing, I loved them (and ate about 11 of them) and so did my family (they ate the rest).

They have no butter, no oil, no fat and no flour, period. They consist of main 3 ingredients: sugar (aka Sweetener in my house), cocoa powder & egg whites.

They're also fast and easy to make and the chocolate flavor just erupts in your mouth when you first try them. I added in peanut butter baking chips but only because I like peanut butter in everything, you can add plain chocolate chips or nothing at all.

segunda-feira, 13 de janeiro de 2014

I was away all through the weekend but I needed to take some serious time to study because this is my finals season and things are getting though... (see, even being a musician I need to study hard!)

This morning I didn't go to the gym because today I have a very important and hard exam in a couple of hours but I woke up early anyway, made myself a generous nutritious breakfast and spent the entire morning and afternoon studying.

That's right: I made myself Apple stuffed Cinnamon topped french toast (and it was my first attempt ever at french toast)!

I wasn't even planning on posting it on here but it was so simple, easy and fast I thought I had to share it with you guys so I grabbed my camera real quick and took some shots of the result.

All you need to make these is an apple, 2 slices of bread, cinnamon, one egg, a little milk, and some optional Stevia sweetener to sweeten the apples and powdered sugar to sprinkle on top.

Oh and a pan and some baking spray (or any other kind of grease), obviously.

They take just about 10 minutes prepare and make and are super filling and taste amazing, I became a fan of french toast and am now looking for more variations to try it (if you have any ideas please let me know!) :-)

Here goes the recipe and nutrition:

Ingredients:

- 2 slices of bread

- 2 Tbsp of milk

- 1 large egg

- 2 tbsp cinnamon

- 1 tsp powdered sugar

- 1 apple peeled and sliced

- 1 tsp of Stevia sweetener

How to make them:

- First start by heating your pan and greasing it and throwing in the apples and the sweetener and letting it simmer until the apple is soft and becoming brownish;

- Crack the egg into a deep dish and add in the milk and 1 tbsp cinnamon and whisk it all together;

- Drown both slices of bread into the egg mix very well until they are very soggy;

- Remove the apples from the pan to a dish and put the bread onto the re-greased pan;

- Cook the bread slices both sides until they are golden brown and remove to the dish;

- Place the apple in between the slices of bread, close the sandwich and sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon and the powdered sugar on top.

All done!

Macros (don't forget macros vary with brands and amounts!):

250kcal

33g Carbs

8g Fat

12g Protein

I like to enjoy them with a little skimmed milk and a lot of coffee to power up my studies but you can also try tea or just plain black coffee.

Hope you try them and enjoy them, let me know if you have any other french toast toppings and fillings ideas!

quinta-feira, 9 de janeiro de 2014

Or not maybe not I don't know but there will be cake in this post, fast and easy cake(s).

Ever since I started flexible dieting I have learned a lot about oowey goowey desserts that *fit my macros* and tried them (almost) all but my favorite of all day and that I have been consuming on a daily basis are mugcakes. Chocolate ones. Toped with some more chocolate.

With these cakes there is no "I can't cook", "I haven't got the time", "I am too lazy" or "I don't know how to use my oven". You don't need anymore than 5 minutes and you don't need to even look at your oven, you just have to step in the kitchen and grab a bowl and a spoon. Done.

They practically make themselves.

I make them in all kinds of sizes to fit not only my macros but also my hunger levels (which are almost always very high but sometimes just mild - not very often though)

Another amazing fact about these cakes (besides the fact that they are cakes and have chocolate) is that they require 0 to no clean-up except for the mug/dish/bowl with cook and eat them in and the spoon you use.

In this post I'll share with you the recipe and macros for 2 sizes of soft and warm mugcakes so you can fit them to whatever you wan't, and I'll also post some options for topping combinations I have tried and love. Like these: